Suzuki Katana 750 1000 1100 Motorcycle restoration parts to be added.

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81 SUZUKI KATANA GSX SZ 1100 RESTORATION

I remember the first time I saw a Suzuki Katana WoW. It was on Bay St Brighton Le Sands the owner turned off General Holmes Drive & parked in front of the Commonwealth Bank, I quickly rode my Supergoose over to have a gander. What the Heck was it. It turned out to be a Suzuki Katana that in late 1981 looked like something that was back from the future I loved it. I made my mind up there & then that I would own one of these ultra rad bikes. The first bike I bought was a Suzuki DR then a two stroke Suzuki RG 250. Then in 85 a mate bought a Katana he rode it down the street and ran into the back of a parked truck luckily the only thing hurt was his ego.... $2500 later it was mine. At this time I was living in Bundeena so it was ridden daily through Nasho (Royal National Park) what a blast. I gave her new fork seals, wheel,swing arm,triple tree bearings,four into ones & Marzzochi shocks a Onyx black coat of paint with royal blue wheels, engine, discs, and calipers. In 1990 I had to sell her to get a car. Bummer.

Here's a photo before the paint job as you can see the bike was all ready black.

Five years down the road the opportunity to own another Katana came up. My Bro's mate who owned an original 82 750 with 13000k's on the clock... $2500 and I became the second owner this is my registered daily ride. A little later another came up on Ebay a 81 model 1100. A quick trip to Wollongong in the F100 hand over the cash and now I have two, this is the one that I will be showing the rebuild on. The paint was mediocre so all the bodywork and tank where removed for prep.

This is the 1100 two hours after I rolled it off the truck.

FRAME

The first thing to do was to remove all the mechanicals so the frame could be powder coated. The wheels, swing arm and triple trees where removed in that order then the frame with the engine where placed on skateboard so I could move it around easily(probably not OH&S approved however with the trucks tightened up it makes a handy dolly)all the other bits & pieces where removed. The next thing to do was to mark all the wiring to make rewiring quicker, all the plugs and sockets can only go in one spot but marking the connectors makes it easier to rewire plus a few simple drawings where done showing frame connections... anything for leisurely life. With the wiring removed it was time to remove the engine. This was done by first loosening all the bolts then carefully rolling the frame onto a stack of carpet tiles. The engine mountings where removed the frame was lifted off and the engine rolled back onto the skateboard.

Here's the frame ready for the powder coating.

The frame, engine mounts and triple clamps where sent to be powder coated in precision silver this is a spot on match for the original frame colour. It is important to explain to the powder coaters which bits of the frame you don't want painted it will save the hassle of having to remove the paint from bolt holes and mounting points when you get it back. They can do this by inserting silicone plugs in the bolt holes or taping up any areas you don't want painted with heatproof tape. If you forget any bits the paint can be removed by sanding or masking off the areas and applying paint stripper. Ideally you should remember all the bits you don't want painted as you don't want to be going near your newly powder coated frame with paint stripper. If you have to and you don't trust yourself cover the frame in plastic leaving only the places to be stripped exposed.

DISASSEMBLY FRONT & REAR DAMPERS

While the frame, triple clamps & engine mounts are being powder coated it would be a good time to rebuild the front & rear dampers so you can get rolling chassis going when the frame is ready. The first thing to do is to degrease the parts you will be working on we don't want all the grit and grime spoiling our nice new parts. Be careful when using degreaser as they can contain caustic ingredients which can pit your aluminum parts or cause damage to plastic rubber & paint. I have found Loctite Yuk Off orange hand cleaner to be an effective degreaser it can be applied with a short bristled brush and then hosed off, another advantage of using Yuk Off is that you can use it on your hands when you finish. With that out of the way the dampers can be disassembled.

I started with the front first as the hard chrome on the stanchion tubes had some slight pitting. It would have been fine after being sanded with some 600 wet & dry using some WD-40 as lubricant as it was above the dust seal and well away from the fork seals. However I wanted as new or better so when the tubes are removed they will be off to a local Hard chroming business for some electroplating & linishing to bring them back to new. Before the stanchion tubes are removed from the triple clamps the spring tensioners under the rubber caps should be loosened this will be easier than trying to do it later on. The first thing to do is to remove the spring tensioner wrap some cardboard around stanchion tube so it can be clamped vertically in the vice with just enough force to hold the stanchion securely or it could be deformed by the vice, apply a slight downward force against the spring force with the spanner or socket as the last threads exit the stanchion so as to avoid damaging the soft aluminium threads on the tensioner. Once it is removed tip the fork leg over a container the free piston & spring will fall out allow the oil to drain, the fork may have to be stroked several times to remove all the oil. Repeat the procedure for the other fork leg. The dust seal & snap ring can now be removed.

To remove the damper rod wrap the outer tube with cardboard and secure it in the vice or if you have a large vice the outer tube can be secured by the caliper mounts. Sometimes a broom handle pressed against the damper rod will stop it from rotating as the 8mm socket head bolt is removed. This was not the case with these fork legs. The solution was to make a tool from a 160x12.5mm bolt(12.5mm shaft). It was filed square on the threaded end so it would fit into 1/4 drive socket set extension bar and the hex head was filed down to 18.9mm across the flats to allow it to fit the 12 point head on the damper rod. You will need a long enough extension bar or bars to reach the damper rod with the bolt inserted into the female part of the extension & a gender bender or appropriate socket on the other end of the extension bar to attach the ratchet drive. Take note of how the oil lock piece & washers are fitted to the damper rod when they are removed the bolt can be reinstalled to hold them in the correct position until it is ready to go back in.

This is the Damper rod tool mentioned above.

The stanchion tube can now be given a sharp tug to remove it from the outer tube. The fork seal can now be removed, a large screwdriver with the tip bent over is perfect for this job. If you have not already done so the anti dive units can be removed. The stanchions are now ready to go to the hardchromer's & the outer tubes can be polished more on that later. Clean and bag all the parts label the bags left an right this is a good habit to get into, plastic bags are cheap don't be stingy here.

The rear dampers on this bike are adjustable Koni's and rebuild kits are available from Proven Products so it was decided to rebuild them. Place the bottom mount in a vice to remove the springs this was done by pulling the coils together using several lengths of strong nylon rope spring compressors can be used however I did not want to mark the spring. When the spring is pulled down far enough the top collar & locking ring can be removed then the spring will lift off. The shaft was then wrapped in cardboard secured in the vice be careful not to mark or bend the shaft, the top top mount & lock-nut where removed. The next item to remove is the retainer on the top of the damper body this can be removed with a tool available from Proven Products I made my own out of 8mm flat bar.

This is the tool used to remove the top of the rear damper units. The large hole is 13.5mm, the two pin holes are 26.7mm apart and are 4.9mm in diameter.

Once the top collar is removed the O rings in the kit can be installed. Before the O ring kit was installed the outer body was stripped of paint using paint stripper cleaned then re coated with gloss black Killrust Epoxy Enamel it was purchased at Bunnings hardware....Supercheap Auto have just started stocking it as well it is available in tins & spray cans. Several light coats where applied and once touch dry where placed in a oven at 60 degrees (if painted during summer in Australia hang on the clothes line paint in the morning then leave them to cure), this will cure the paint once cured it has a very high oil and petrol resistance. Several gloss black engine parts prepared this way on my car two years ago still look great, while I'm on the topic when rebuilding the engine in my Mitsubishi cordia the turbo exhuast housing, heat shield & dump pipe where painted with gloss aluminium Killrust Epoxy Enamel to make them look pretty expecting it to fry off when the engine fired up for the first time.... it's still silver!, I think they use actual aluminium in the the paint this is what I suspect makes it so heat proof.

REASSEMBLY FRONT & REAR DAMPERS

Rear Damper

The assembly of the KONI 7610 rear dampers is straight forward the O rings are oiled to prevent damage as they are installed on the piston rod seal, O-ring for body & O-ring for piston rod where replaced with the items from Proven Products kit. Clamp the bottom mount of the damper in the vice then using a 4mm pin spanner or your home made tool, remove the top nut that has the rod seal in it with the pin spanner. Place a rag around the damper to catch any oil as the rod & piston are removed. The piston can then be removed with a 12mm socket, while holding the damper rod in the vice securing the top eye. Be aware of the positions of the shims and perforated washers in the piston. If they go back in the wrong order, you might end up with an oil-filled rigid strut instead of a damper.

Once the piston is removed the ring nut and seal can be removed. The seal can be pushed out using a socket the right size to fit through the hole in the top nut. (The new seal can be inserted using a larger socket. I just place the socket and parts in the vice and squeeze it into the top nut. To reinsert the nut with the new seal on it, a plastic rod the same diameter as the damper rod inserted into the seal from the inside a steel rod or socket of the appropriate size can be used. This will spread the lip of the seal enough to insert it back on the rod without damaging the seal a little oil will help as well. 80 ml of 5w oil is put into the cartridge. Then install the damper piston and rod. Screw the top nut down tight onto the new o-ring that comes with the kit. The next thing to do is to clamp the bottom eye into the vice screw on the lock nut & top eye then tighten. The spring & spring retainer can now installed remove the rope or spring compressors and your'e done. The damper will have to be pumped a couple of times to get the oil through it I left that till the dampers where back on the bike.

Front Damper

The front damper outer tube can be polished quite easily. Start with 400 grit wet & dry a bucket of water with a drop of detergent this will help keep the paper clean & the water will catch any grit that may be present, this will stop it ruining the finish. Once you have the same finish all over the outer tube repeat with 600, 1200 then 2000 be sure to use new water with each grit so that the next piece of paper is not contaminated by the previous grit. When you have finished with the 2000 it is time to polish secure the tube in the vice use cardboard to avoid marking grab some Auotsol metal polish a clean cotton rag an old T shirt is perfect, make sure it is clean as a grain of sand will mark your carefully prepared surface now polish away. mmmm Shiny

The next thing was to prepare the damper rod as the holes on the bottom had little dags of metal around the edges you don't want these bits coming loose and scoring the new seals. The holes where cleaned up with a Dremel tool & ball stone just clean the holes we don't need to make them any bigger. When this was done on both damper rods the threaded hole in the bottom of the damper rod was chased with the appropriate tap. While the tap set is out chase all the holes in the outer tube, when all the holes had been chased both the damper rod & outer tube where cleaned in warm soapy water, rinsed and dried. With that done the anti friction metal on the end of the stanchion tube & inside the top of the outer tube where replaced be careful when installing the new pieces as they do not have much flexibility. Install a new damper rod ring in the groove on the top of the damper rod. Slip on the wave washer with the cone facing upwards then the flat washer followed by the second wave washer with the cone facing downwards & finally the oil lock piece.Slip the damper rod into the stanchion tube don't forget to put the short rebound spring onto the damper rod before it goes in (the free length should be 53mm if the spring is shorter it should be replaced)

Clamp the outer tube in the vice then holding the damper rod in place with an extension bar carefully slide the stanchion tube into the inner tube then tighten the damper rod bolt to 15-25 N.m (11-18 lb-ft). Install the anti dive units with new O rings tighten bolts to 6-9 N.m (4.5-6.5 lb-ft) followed by the outer tube bleeder screw with new O ring. The oil seal can now be lightly oiled then pushed home I used a piece of pvc pipe. Install the circlip over the oil seal, the spring can now be installed with the large pitch (coils furthest apart) on the bottom (the free length should be 463mm if the spring is shorter it should be replaced) next 227ml of 20W Motul fork oil was poured into the stanchion tube. Then the free piston with it's new O ring lightly oiled is pushed into the top of the stanchion tube followed by the cap bolt. Start the threads on the cap bolt carefully to avoid cross threading then tighten to 15-30 N.m (11-21.5 lb-ft). Slip on the dust seal & push the rubber cap into the cap bolt & it's done.

SWING ARM

The swing arm was in good condition however the bearings needed replacement. The swing arm was placed on it's side over a block of wood so that the bearing tube overhangs the block. A round bar is used to tap the bearing out I used a 30cm piece of concrete reo bar with the end filed flat. Start at 12 O'clock go to 6 O'clock then to 9 O'clock then to 3 O'clock so that the bearing is tapped out straight if it becomes skewed tap it straight then continue. When the first bearing is removed the spacer tube will drop out then the second bearing can be removed. The swing arm & spacer tube where de greased. The swing arm was then clamped in the vice with the bottom of the bearing tube resting on the bottom of the vice so that it can not move down while the new bearing is being tapped in. A piece of flat hardwood was used to start the bearing off then an appropriate size socket was used to drive the bearing home, the force applied with the socket should be applied to the outside race (outer edge) of the bearing or it will be damaged on installation. The swing arm is the turned over the spacer is placed in the bearing tube then tap the second bearing in, the flat washers & dust covers can now go on after applying a little rubber grease to the outer edge of the seal as this moves on the swing arm. Are We There Yet. At some point in it's life the chain guard tab had snapped off so the remainder was filed flat & a new one fabricated from a piece of 4mm flat bar the welded in place



WHEEL PREPARATION

The first thing to do is to remove the tyres if you don't have any tyre levers take them to your local tyre dealer to have them removed. Next remove the front & rear axels take note of how all the spacers are arranged, I reassembeled the spacers on the axels in the correct order, some drawings where done on zip lock bags the axels cleaned then placed in the bags for Ron (later on). Remove the front & rear discs. The paint on the rims was the original charchoal colour. The bike I am restoring is a 81 1100 model seeing as some of these came out with silver rims I decided to strip the charcoal paint. I applied paint sripper to one side & sat the wheel in the shade, if you put them in the sun the stripper will dry before you have a chance to remove it, if you don't get to it in time & it does dry out hose it down to soften the stripper . Once the paint has wrinkeled put on some gloves & rub them down with a 3M scotchbrite pad this will get most of the paint off. I only use scotchbrite 3M they work better than other pads & last alot longer to boot. The recesses in the wheel will require their own special attention, wooden kebab sticks will do this job nicely you could use paddle pop sticks or plastic take away forks & knives the important thing is not to scratch the rims. If there are any spots where the paint is a little stubborn apply some more sripper till all the paint is removed. While the wheels where being prepared the front & rear disks where stripped of paint as well (gloves & scotchbrite again). Wash the wheels & discs down with some detergent to remove the residual paint stripper & allow them to dry.

Insert photo

After the paint had been removed from the wheels & discs the bearings where removed. To do this place the front wheel onto two blocks of wood then tap the bearings out using a iron bar. Start at 12 O'clock go to 6 O'clock then to 9 O'clock then to 3 O'clock so that the bearing is tapped out straight if it becomes skewed tap it straight then continue. When the first bearing is removed the spacer tube will drop out then the second bearing can be removed. Repeat this procedure on the rear wheel & the sprocket carrier. After removing the bearings I noticed that the front wheel had a woble in it. So the old bearings where re inserted & it was taken to Laurie Alderton at 2/ 10 Long St 2164 Smithfield NSW Phone: (02) 9609 2889 to have it straightened. The wheel was picked up a week later & it was perfect I am always impressed by his work, he does frame straightening as well.

The paint used for the wheels was Wattyl Kill rust aluminium epoxy enamel. I was going to mask up the rims then spray them however with the texture on the wheels I found it was easier to brush the paint on resulting in the same finish as if they had been sprayed. The outer edge & spokes of the rims where lightly polished with Autosol metal polish & some discs cut out of 3M Scotchbrite pads then fitted to the Dremmel. The front & rear discs where sprayed with Rust Guard satin black epoxy enamel, Wattyl & rust guard is manufactured in the same factory. New bearings where pressed into the front wheel, rear wheel & sprocket carrier, The sprocket carrier was rubbed back with a 3M Scotchbrite pad then given a light polish then cleaned of with wax & grease remover & sprayed in 2 pak enamel. A new sprocket, bolts & lock washers where installed onto the carrier. The brake discs where checked for thickness & run out, the minimum thickness for the front is 4.5mm with 6mm for the rear maximum run out is 0.3mm, all was within spec so the discs where installed with new lock washers. Axels where installed & new tires where fitted Dunlop Arrowmax GT301F to the front & Dunlop Arrowmax GT501 to the rear. Wheels are now ready. Whoo Hoo.

Insert photo

FRONT & REAR BRAKE PREPARATION

After the front /rear brake calipers & discs where degreased with hot soapy water (kero or solvents will damage the seals) the old paint was stripped off. Rebuilding the calipers is a fairly straight forward procedure however if you have any doubts in your technical capabilities they should be left to an expert. The dust rubbers are removed easily with the use of fingers the next thing to remove is the pistons. Remove the bleeder nipples place a piece of wood in front of the piston so it doesn't shoot out across the workshop. Apply air pressure to the bleeder port and the piston will pop out. After the pistons have been removed the piston seal can be removed. The pistons should be inspected for rust spots or scoring if any is observed they should be replaced. To Re assemble lightly grease the new piston seal with rubber grease insert it into the groove in the caliper & make sure it is correctly seated. The piston can now be inserted & the new rubber dust cover installed. After the assembly the bleeder nipples where replaced with stainless steel bleeder nipples these where purchased with a set of braided stainless brake lines from Hel Performance along with a full set of stainless steel banjo bolts. The calipers where then sprayed with Rust Guard satin black epoxy enamel & left to dry before being Re installed on the bike with the new Hel brake lines. The brakes where then bled. This is slightly more difficult because of the anti dive units. I have found a vacuum bleeding setup can cut down the time it takes to bleed the system by pulling fluid through the dry system. My setup consists of a Mighty Vac hand vacuum pump connected to a jar with two peices of brass pipe soldered into the lid, this stops brake fluid from being drawn into the gun.

They are bled in this order LEFT ANTI DIVE UNIT. LEFT CALIPER RIGHT ANTI DIVE UNIT RIGHT CALIPER This will have to be done a few times to remove all the air from the system. Some air may get trapped in the anti dive units, the manual suggests removing the units and tipping them upside down to move the trapped air however I have not had to do this as I let the system settle overnight and bled it the next day and it was fine.

The rear caliper recieved the same treatment, bleed the inner bleeder first the outer one second.and it's done.





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